NerdWallet’s 4 Best Money Saving Apps

At NerdWallet, we strive to help you make financial decisions with confidence. To do this, many or all of the products featured here are from our partners. However, this doesn’t influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own.

Saving up can seem like a huge task — but these money saving apps can help. You can fill your piggy bank automatically so that savings goals can be met without stress.

1. Qapital

How it works: Qapital lets you set “rules” to automate savings. For example, every time you spend money, Qapital can round the total up to the nearest dollar and move the amount into a goal account insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Or you can contribute a lump sum to your fund on a regular basis.

You’ll need an outside checking account to link to Qapital and fund your various goals. Withdrawing money from your Qapital account will take one to two business days.

Perks: The Qapital Spending account’s debit card is free to use for transfers and purchases but has fees for using ATMs. (Qapital won’t charge you, but the ATM owner might.) You can set up a rule so spending with the card will automatically plunk your spare change into a Qapital savings goal.

Downsides: The three levels of membership cost $3, $6 or $12 per month, respectively, with higher tiers showing more money insights. In addition, you earn only 0.10% interest — low for a savings account.

2. Acorns

How it works: Acorns is an investing app that rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and automatically adds the difference to an Acorns account. The money will be invested in a portfolio based on your income and goals, and you’ll earn a return on the investment.

A basic taxable investment account cost $1 a month. Each Acorns portfolio is composed of exchange-traded funds, with options that range from conservative (having a higher percentage of bonds) to aggressive (having a higher percentage of stocks).

Acorns is also coming out with a Spend account, essentially a checking account. When you use the account’s debit card, your change will directly go to your investments.

Perk: If you make purchases using a card linked to your Acorns account with one of the company’s partners, such as Airbnb and Blue Apron, those companies give back a percentage of the purchase to your Acorns savings account.

Downsides: Because your money is being invested, your savings may shrink if there’s a dip in the markets where you’ve allocated your funds. It can also take several days to withdraw money from your account, because shares in the invested ETF must be sold first.

3. Digit

How it works: Digit calculates what you can save based on your income and spending patterns, and transfers that amount from your checking into an FDIC-insured Digit account. It typically makes two or three savings transfers per week. There’s a 30-day free trial period when you sign up for Digit, but after that, it costs $2.99 per month.

Perk: You’ll earn a 1% annual savings bonus paid every three months, based on the average daily balance kept in your Digit account during that period.

Downside: Because the amount taken out of your external checking account can vary, a Digit transfer could cause an overdraft on that account. Digit refunds up to two overdraft fees triggered by Digit transfers, but you can set up the app to limit the daily amount saved.

4. Chime

How it works: Chime is a mobile-only bank that offers automatic savings features. By using the app, you’ll get a Chime checking account and debit card, and an optional savings account. Chime is free where traditional banks may not be — there are no monthly fees, overdraft fees or foreign transaction fees.

Opt in to round up every purchase you make with your Chime card to the nearest dollar and automatically plunk the difference into the Chime savings account. Or elect to automatically transfer 10% of your paycheck to savings when it comes in.

Perk: You can receive your paycheck up to two days early when you sign up for direct deposit.

Using apps to save money

If you find it difficult to build a savings balance, using an app that automatically does it for you can be a good first step. Getting yourself in the habit of regularly putting aside some money — and seeing your balance compound and grow — can put you on track to successfully managing your income and expenses. (Read more about how compound interest works.)

Best money saving apps

About the author

Amber is a personal finance writer at NerdWallet. Her work has been featured by USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor and The Associated Press. She holds a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from UCLA.
Read more

More From NerdWallet

We want to hear from you and encourage a lively discussion among our users. Please help us keep our site clean and safe by following our posting guidelines, and avoid disclosing personal or sensitive information such as bank account or phone numbers. Any comments posted under NerdWallet's official account are not reviewed or endorsed by representatives of financial institutions affiliated with the reviewed products, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Disclaimer: NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific product’s site. All financial products, shopping products and services are presented without warranty. When evaluating offers, please review the financial institution’s Terms and Conditions. Pre-qualified offers are not binding. If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion® directly.